Since this is neither a question nor suggestion, just comments, I decided to put this here.

Anyone else hate the default summons? Because summon creature II is lousy. It summons a level 7 dire boar. It's stats are barely better than the level 3 dire badger summoned by summon creature I, but the difference in level is causing it to increase spawn difficulty, which then causes it to die. And my ice mephit familiar to die. And then I have to run away while invisible.

Worth noting is that the next summon up, the dire wolf, appears to be only level 6.

Summons are stinky ... I never use 'em. I don't play a magic-user too often, but summons won't be found in my PC's magical inventory for that reason. Now, if someone were to suggest a vc-type variable summon, that might be a step in the right direction...